


Pretend

by SharkGirl



Series: Year of Shance [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blushing, Cat Ears, Cat/Human Hybrids, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Monsters & Mana (Voltron), Pining, Post-Episode: s06e03 Monsters & Mana, Purring, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 06:44:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17761796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SharkGirl/pseuds/SharkGirl
Summary: The gang needs to travel through Pike's homeland. Which shouldn't have been a problem, except...his entire family thinks he left to elope. And he can't just waltz back in without a mate.Thankfully, Gyro has a brilliant idea.





	Pretend

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all!! I'm a couple days late because I got hit with a nasty cold. I'm still not over it, but I felt well enough to complete and edit my fic today~  
> As always, this Pyro fic is on a completely different timeline from my others.
> 
> This is for Week 1 of Month 2 of the Year of Shance (what a mouthful!)  
> The prompt was "Fake Dating"  
> Ideally, I'd like to take all the prompts and make one big series, so I hope you're looking forward to more Pike and Gyro!! (They totally count as Shance in the rules, so yay!!)
> 
> Beta'd by the lovely and talented Jes~  
> Please enjoy!!

“Okay, here’s the deal,” Pike said, letting the breath he’d been holding out in a whoosh. “I can’t just waltz back into my tribe with no ties, if you catch my drift.”

The thief waited for Gyro to nod in understanding, but, judging by the paladin’s confused expression, it might take a while.

“I’m well beyond _The Age_ , Gyro,” Pike went on, gesticulating to get his point across. “You know…to be…” He bit his lower lip, hoping Gyro would catch on.

“The age…to be…” Gyro repeated, furrowing his brow. “I’m sorry, Pike. But I’m afraid I’m not following.”

Meklavar snickered from beside them and Pike knew that if he glanced over, he’d find Valayun and Block barely containing their own laughter.

Why did Gyro have to make everything so difficult? This should have been an easy job. In and out. A simple jaunt into the southern felinoid territory, through a mystical palm grove to retrieve a golden egg, and back. They should have had their reward money before dinner time.

But, as much as Pike wanted to blame the paladin, their only problem was not, in fact, Gyro’s fault. It was Pike’s. For this particular clowder was none other than Pike’s family. And even though he’d run off and hadn’t seen them in _years_ , he knew he couldn’t just stroll on by without at least one member spotting him.

Especially because the reason he gave for leaving was to elope.

It was the only way they’d let him go! And he didn’t think it would come back to haunt him, okay? He loved his family, but the felinoid way wasn’t exactly his thing. Probably something he picked up from his human father’s side. And the fact that he was _way_ overdue for a mate… Yeah, that wasn’t going to sit well with them and he’d probably never hear the end of it, least of all make it through to complete the quest.

A simple solution would have been for Pike to stay put and let the rest of his party collect the golden egg. But that wouldn’t work because his people were very territorial. Welcoming, yes, but not without a proper invitation or escort. And considering Pike was the only half-felinoid they knew…

He sighed, running a clawed hand through his hair and brushing the tips of his ears with his palm. This was not going to be pleasant.

“Since Gyro’s not picking up on your _hints_ ,” Meklavar began, using air quotes, “I’ll gladly explain.”

“Mek-”

“Pike ran off, telling his family he was getting married,” the dwarf went on, ignoring Pike’s interruption. “And his family isn’t going to let him through their territory without questioning him about his mate,” she said.

Gyro slowly bobbed his head. Then he turned wide eyes on Pike. “You’re married?!” he gasped.

Block and Meklavar burst into gales of laughter, while Valayun managed to correct him between giggles. “No, Gyro. Pike is not married,” she tittered. “That’s the problem he’s having.”

The paladin’s mouth formed a perfect ‘o’ as he finally understood. “So, we can’t complete the mission because Pike can’t show up to his family’s home without a mate, right?”

They nodded and Pike, who wasn’t sure if he was more embarrassed for himself or on Gyro’s behalf, simply bit his lip and turned toward the familiar trees that lined his tribe’s land.

“Well, in that case, one of us should pretend to be his mate,” Gyro offered simply. “That way, we can be safely escorted through the felinoid territory and complete our quest as planned.”

Meklavar blinked. “That’s…actually not a bad idea.”

“Yeah,” Block agreed, stroking his beard. “But…who?”

The three looked amongst themselves and then at Gyro and Pike, grins adorning their faces.

Oh, great…

“Since Gyro came up with this brilliant plan…” Valayun began, batting her eyelashes, “It’s only fair that he get to see it through.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Meklavar added.

“Yeah, you two go ahead and give us the signal when it’s safe for the entire party to enter,” Block said, twirling his staff in the air and producing and small, brightly-colored pouch. He handed it to Pike. “Toss this high into the air when you’re ready for us.”

Pike opened his mouth to object, but then sighed, resigning himself to his fate. He turned toward Gyro, expecting him to be either disappointed in his role or stubbornly – and irritatingly handsomely – determined.

But instead, Pike saw Gyro looking down and very pointedly studying his shiny sabatons, his cheeks tinted a brilliant shade of red.

Hmm. Well, that was interesting.

Pike shook his head before any thoughts regarding Gyro’s adorably blushing face or the reasons behind it could conjure themselves up in his brain. They had a mission to complete and reward money to earn. And now it seemed like their one obstacle was nonexistent – more or less.

“All right,” Pike heaved another sigh and placed the colorful smoke bomb into one of the bags tied around his waist. “Let’s get this over with.” And, without glancing back at Gyro, he began walking into his old stomping grounds.

 

Pike and Gyro walked in somewhat easy – if not slightly awkward – silence for several hundred feet before Pike found himself distracted by the scenery. He hadn’t been in this area in so long, but everywhere he looked seemed to spark a sense of nostalgia.

From the tall trees he used to climb as a kit, to the pastel flowers that bloomed all over the clearings. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scent of home. It overwhelmed his senses, bringing up happy memories from his past.

He was so lost within them, that Pike didn’t even realize he’d started purring until two gloved fingers pressed against the side of his neck, alerting him to the vibrations.

Pike stopped mid-step, his eyes flying open. He turned toward Gyro to find the other looking down at him with a soft sort of expression on his face.

“So, it was you making that noise.”

Heat flooded Pike’s face as he drew back, his heart hammering his chest.

“Sorry,” Gyro apologized, his own cheeks tinting. “I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s no big deal,” Pike cut him off, his tail whipping behind him. He swallowed and then cleared his throat, trying desperately to slow his erratic pulse. How in all of Aurita did Gyro sneak up on him like that? Pike should have sensed the paladin’s intent the moment he flexed his arm to move it and yet…

He wet his lips and shook his head again. He allowed himself to get distracted because he was in a familiar place. He shouldn’t have let his guard down, not when they could still be attacked at any moment. Home didn’t mean safety, especially in a felinoid territory. Though, thankfully, it was daytime.

They started walking again, but this time Gyro spoke up. “You know,” he began, falling into step beside Pike, “I hadn’t thought of this earlier, but wouldn’t it have been easier to use your invisibility cloak to sneak in?”

Pike snorted. He’d wondered why no one else had brought that up, but he figured maybe they already knew. Still, he explained. “Heightened sense of smell,” he said, tapping the tip of his own nose. “It’s a felinoid thing,” he went on. “They would have recognized my scent the moment I was in range.”

“Ah.” Gyro nodded.

“Also, my cloak is really only big enough for one,” Pike continued. Though, in all actuality, he could fit two – three, if one of them was Meklavar – but as soon as he imagined squeezing underneath it, his body pressed up against Gyro’s, his cheeks grew warm once again.

What was the matter with him?

Yes, Gyro was handsome. But it wasn’t like Pike to be so… affected.

Maybe it was because, subconsciously, his body knew that soon he’d have to pass the paladin off as his mate to his entire family. And that thought alone caused more heat to spread through him.

How were they going to make it at all believable? His family would sniff out the lie immediately. This plan was so completely flawed. Maybe if they ran by fast enough…

“We should probably work on our story,” Gyro said, interrupting Pike’s thoughts.

“Hmm?” He blinked.

“To tell your family,” Gyro clarified. “About how we met and what we’ve been doing for the past few years.” He glanced down, a small smile curving his lips. “And about our wedding.”

Oh, right. If they came up with a cohesive backstory, that might be just enough to get them through to the enchanted, mystical palm grove.

“I guess you’re right,” Pike agreed. “So, how did we meet?”

Gyro rubbed his chin for a moment before speaking. “You said you left because you wanted to elope, right?”

Pike’s face flushed. What a flimsy excuse. And it wasn’t like he’d stolen away in the middle of the day – while his family was fast asleep – and left only a note behind. He’d just straight-up told his parents that he’d found the one and that no match-making would be necessary. Then he packed a bag and kept walking north until his legs gave out and he found an inn.

He’d been fending for himself ever since.

Well, until he met his party, that was.

“That might not be very believable now,” Pike admitted, lowering his ears pathetically. “There’s no way I would have met a random human they’d never seen before – _on our land_ – and then run off with him.” He chewed on his lower lip.

“Maybe we were penpals,” Gyro suggested, cocking his head to the side. “And you fell in love with the way I wrote my L’s,” he teased.

Wait. Gyro? Teasing?

Pike found the corners of his lips curling up on their own as he shot back, “Or maybe you saw me from afar and begged I steal away with you in the night,” he raised him. “Or maybe it was your quest to hunt down a felinoid, but then, after getting to know me you realized…” Pike paused for dramatic effect, lacing his fingers and leaning in impossibly close to Gyro. “ _I_ was your quest.”

Heat radiated off of Gyro’s face as he flushed. Pike snorted and pulled back. That would show the paladin who was better at flirting. If that was indeed what Gyro had been trying to do earlier. Or…then again, maybe it wasn’t.

“Anyway, they’re not going to buy it,” Pike said, pulling a random barbed seed free from where it had gotten caught on the end of his tail. “I’ll just admit that I lied about the elopement, but then I found you and we fell madly in love.” He glanced up at Gyro. “Sound good?”

Gyro’s face was still pink, but the color had calmed a bit. He nodded. “Sure.”

“Okay.” Pike looked up at the sky. The sun was directly overhead. If they were luckily, most of his family would be sleeping. His mother, at the very least. She was a full-blooded felinoid, while Pike and his siblings were all half-human. And that strange mix of nocturnal and diurnal tended to mess with their sleeping patterns.

Surprisingly, no one paid Pike and Gyro much mind as they made it to the center of the town. There were only a few felinoids awake at this hour and they appeared to simply be finishing tasks before heading home to sleep the day away.

Of course, Pike’s family’s property was at the other end of town. Right where he and Gyro were headed. And he should have known that their good fortune wouldn’t last.

And sure enough, just as they set foot on the dusty path, there were two high-pitched screams that alerted Pike that they’d been spotted, followed by cheerful shouts of, “Uncle Pike!”

He turned and saw two very familiar faces. His eldest brother’s twins bounded toward him, their ears perked up and their tails swishing happily behind them. “Hey,” he greeted, overcome with emotion when they jumped into his arms.

Pike had been glad to escape the inevitable forced marriage, but as much as he pretended he didn’t, he’d missed his family so very much.

He pulled back to get a good look at the twins. “Great moons, you two are so much bigger now,” he breathed, getting choked up.

“Yeah!” one cheered while the other said, “I’ve lost three baby teeth!” Then they both took a break from greeting their uncle to look around him and directly at Gyro. “Is that your wife?”

Pike swallowed the laugh that threatened to burst forth from his lips. “My wife?” He side-eyed Gyro, noting the flustered expression the paladin wore. “And who told you I had a wife?”

“Aunt Curtana,” they answered in unison. “She said she smelled Uncle Pike and a human. And we just _knew_ it had to be your wife.”

“Curtana?” Pike’s blood ran cold. “Curtana is awake?”

“Yup! She’s watching us while Mommy’s working and Daddy sleeps.”

In hindsight, Pike should have expected the kits to be up. Their mother was a human, too, so they were only one-quarter felinoid and would most-likely be awake during the day. And they obviously couldn’t be left alone. Still, of all his family members to be babysitting, his eldest sister had to be the absolutely worst option to-

“Hello, Pike,” Curtana greeted, having caught up with the kits. She crossed her arms over her chest as the tip of her tail flicked behind her. “Stopping by for an impromptu reunion?”

“I was in the neighborhood,” Pike said simply, shrugging his shoulders. “How’s Kris?”

“She’s fine,” Curtana replied. “But I’m more interested in your mate.” She raised a delicate eyebrow, her dark blue eyes focusing on the paladin. “A human? Can’t say I’m surprised.” She lifted her chin, scenting the air, and frowned. “He’s nervous,” she noted and then flashed her pearly fangs. “Just what did you tell him about us?”

Pike opened his mouth, but Gyro answered for him. “Nothing traducing, I assure you,” he said, stepping forward and holding his hand out toward Curtana. “My name is Gyro. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Curtana eyed him for a moment before accepting his handshake. Then she turned her gaze on Pike. “I like him,” she said. “I can see why you left your entire family behind to be with him.”

It was meant to cut, to hurt him. But Pike couldn’t blame her. Family was so important. They’d all been raised that way. Still, he’d wanted to follow his own dream, see what life was like outside of their territory and-

“I do feel the need to correct your assumption,” Gyro said to his sister, giving a polite bow of his head.

Curtana narrowed her eyes. “Kits, go play in the backyard,” she ordered. And the twins, somehow sensing the mood, took off. She faced Gyro. “Go on…”

“Pike didn’t leave home to be with me-”

“I knew it!” Curtana said, smirking wide. “You just didn’t want to get set up, right? I told Mamá-”

“Yes,” Pike cut her off. “I didn’t want to be forced to marry somebody. Is that so bad?” He frowned.

“Not at all,” Curtana’s voice was softer now. “I lucked out. Kris is amazing.” She walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “And I’m sure Mamá will approve of Gyro.”

Oh, right. Gyro was Pike’s ‘mate,’ wasn’t he? Well, at least Curtana still believed that. Maybe the rest of his family would, too. Then they could be on their way.

“So, how did you meet?” Curtana asked, removing her hand from Pike’s shoulder and turning toward Gyro.

Crap. They hadn’t hammered out the details of their story, had they? Pike broke into a cold sweat. He was good at the whole deception thing, but Gyro was as pure as they came. He probably couldn’t tell a lie if his life depended on it. But it would look so suspicious if Pike interrupted and told the story himself. Still, he had to think of something…

“We met shortly after I joined our current party,” Gyro answered. “The four of us were on our way to free a village of people turned to stone, when Pike jumped down from the trees and attempted to make off with a sack of coins we’d just earned.”

Oh. Pike relaxed a bit. So, Gyro was going with the truth, after all. Even so, a nervous little tremor made its way down Pike’s spine, ending at the tip of his tail.

“He was very arrogant and showed off every chance he got,” Gyro went on. “But there was just something about him. And the way he risked his life to save our healer.” He smiled to himself. “We all made such a good team and, afterwards, decided to stay together.”

“I see…” Curtana folded her arms over her chest again. She didn’t look impressed.

“But I didn’t fall in love with him then,” Gyro explained. “And it wasn’t all at once, either.” He fiddled with the hilt of his sword. “Honestly, it took me by surprise,” he admitted. “Then, all of a sudden,” he paused, his eyes meeting Pike’s. “I loved him.”

Something warm bubbled up in Pike’s chest, threatening to spread through his entire body.

Wow, was Gyro ever making this believable. It all sounded so… real.

Who knew he had it in him?

“Oh.” Curtana blinked, her brows shooting to her hairline. Even she was buying it. “Well, I suppose Pike _is_ an acquired taste,” she joked.

“Yes,” Gyro answered, his lips curving up just a bit before he cleared his throat. “Now, I hate to cut our meeting short, but Pike and I are in the middle of a very important quest.”

“Ah, that’s right,” Curtana replied. “By the way,” she said, facing Pike, “you can tell the rest of your party they can enter the territory now.”

Pike gaped. “You knew-”

“They were here?” She raised her brows. “Of course. They’re not exactly quiet.” She flicked one of her ears. “But they’re more than welcome to complete whatever job with you. However,” she paused, her hands landing on Pike’s shoulders with an iron grip. “Once you have what you came for, you’d better come back so the rest of the family can meet your mate.” Her claws bit into his skin, just shy of being painful. “Understood?”

Pike gulped. “Yes, ma’am.” Then, when she released him, he sent up their signal, the bright colors bursting high in the midday sky.

“And Gyro-” She turned toward him, but he was no longer beside them. Both Curtana and Pike looked around until they heard delighted squeals from the backyard. Following the sounds, they spotted Gyro playing with the twins, both of them holding onto his biceps as he spun them around.

“Faster! Faster!” they shouted and something inside Pike melted at the sight.

When he realized they were being watched, Gyro set the kits down and rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, they wanted to play.”

Pike opened his mouth, but he was still so struck by the image of Gyro, smiling and laughing with his family, that he couldn’t find the words.

“That’s fine,” Curtana said for him. “Your other party members should be here shortly.”

“Great.” Gyro beamed and Pike’s heart skipped a beat. “We’ll be on our way, then.”

“Aww…” The twins pouted. “Can’t Uncle Gyro stay a bit longer?”

“Don’t worry,” Curtana said, bending down so she was at eyelevel with the kits. “Uncle Pike and Uncle Gyro promised they’d come back when everyone was awake.” The twins cheered, throwing their hands into the air. “Now,” Curtana continued as she stood back up and scented the air. She snorted, looking at Pike. “Your friends are moving around the outskirts of town.” She shook her head. “Honestly, what did you tell them about us?”

“They’re just being cautious,” Gyro supplied. “But I assure you, they’ll be more than happy to meet everyone when we return with the item we seek.”

Curtana flashed her fangs again. “Excellent. I’ll let Mamá know to set extra places for breakfast.”

Pike just stared at the exchange going on in front of him. Gyro was getting on so well with his family. Even Curtana – who was honestly the most difficult, with her unbelievably keen senses and no-nonsense disposition. At this rate, every member of his family would approve of his and Gyro’s union.

Only…

Only they weren’t actually mates, were they?

In all the excitement, Pike had just about forgotten that this was all a ruse. An act to keep Pike from being paired with someone random.

His heart sunk. How could he have failed to remember that?

“Your party is here,” Curtana noted, gesturing toward the thicket just beyond their yard where Valayun, Meklavar, and Block were crouching, barely concealed. She waved at them and the braches shook as they dove for cover. She faced Gyro. “You will tell them we won’t bite, right?”

“I promise,” Gyro assured her. “Now, we must be off while it’s still light. But we’ll be back by sundown.”

“You’d better.” She reached down and ruffled the twins’ hair. “Otherwise, you’ll be responsible for disappointing these little angels.” She rubbed harder and snickered when the two groaned and pulled away. “Right, Pike?”

“You got it, C,” he said, giving a little mock salute. Though, if he was honest, he really wanted to skip eating with his family. Not because he didn’t want to see them – _he really did_ – but because pretending that Gyro was his was weird all of a sudden.

“Well, we’re burning daylight,” Gyro said. He walked over, wrapping an arm around Pike’s waist and bringing all of the thief’s brain function to a screeching half. “Shall we?”

Pike looked from the hand just above his hip to Gyro and back. He knew his face was red. There was no way it wasn’t. He nodded dumbly and that seemed to be enough for Gyro.

“We’ll see you tonight.” Gyro waved with his other hand as he led Pike toward the rest of their party. And Pike was just starting to get used to Gyro’s touch when the paladin leaned down close enough to whisper in his ear, “Just a bit more. I’m sorry.”

Sorry? For what?

Oh.   

Right. Because this was an act.

“No b-big deal,” Pike replied. But when Gyro released him just before they reached the others, Pike realized something. It _was_ a big deal.

It was a _very_ big deal.

And he wasn’t sure if it was the fact that they’d have to continue their little charade when they returned. Or if it was because, once they were finished meeting Pike’s family, it was all going to be over.

He hung his head low, trailing behind as the others marched onward, slapping Gyro on the back and congratulating him on a job well done.

Ugh. Pike slapped his cheeks. They had a quest to complete. He could deal with the weird, twisty feeling in his gut later. Though, as he looked back up, his gaze falling on Gyro – who was oh-so-modestly accepting their party’s praise – the feeling returned, tenfold.

He winced and then groaned.

No amount of reward money was worth all this.

**Author's Note:**

> Let's just pretend that Gyro has all of Shiro's memories from the game, shall we? lol
> 
> Uh-oh, looks like Pike is starting to pine hard.  
> I wonder how Gyro feels about all this...
> 
> In case you missed her in the tags, Curtana is Veronica. I picked her name because I'm assuming everyone in the Sovnya family has weapon-based names (like Pike) ... (Sovnya is the surname I've given Pike in all my other stories, haha)  
> Also, any guesses as to who Kris is? She might appear in the next installment, so...
> 
> Please let me know what you think and feel free to hit me up on my Voltron sideblog [@bleucheesy](http://bleucheesy.tumblr.com) or [@bySharkGirl](http://twitter.com/bysharkgirl)!


End file.
